Are You a Census of Afghanistan?

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There has never been a census of afghanistan. Does that present some challenges, then, in understanding the population? Yes and no. By now, it's really politicized to ask people about their ethnicity. And if we find out that there are more pash tunes than we believed, or more oozebacks, or whatever, it tips the ethnic balance. It tips the sort of a, they sort of elite politics for people use their ethnic constituencies to bargain with one another. I think u no afganisson has one of it.

While the Taliban have the power of violence on their side in Afghanistan, they nonetheless need civilians to comply with their authority. Both strategically and by necessity, civilians have leveraged this reliance on their obedience in order to influence Taliban behaviour. In this week's episode Ashley Jackson author or Negotiating Survival speaks to Rosamund Urwin about her new model for understanding how civilian agency can shape the conduct of insurgencies. They also discuss Taliban strategy and objectives, explaining how the organisation has so nearly triumphed on the battlefield and in peace talks. While Afghanistan’s future is deeply unpredictable, there is one certainty: it is as critical as ever to understand the Taliban—and how civilians survive their rule. To find out more about the book and to order it click here: https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/negotiating-survival/

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